THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Originally Nashville's grand railroad station, the Union Station Hotel is one of Tennessee's best-known haunted hotels. Guests and employees have reported apparitions, phantom footsteps, strange voices, and mysterious activity throughout the historic building.
There are many rumors regarding the hauntings of the Union Station. Some claim that a train derailment and the subsequent deaths have caused ghosts to linger at what was their last boarding stop. Others tell of a spooky woman seen jumping from the building to her death, and her death is almost always associated with the reports of Room 711 being haunted. If you go there and attempt to discuss ghosts, employee response will fall into one of two categories – abrupt dismissal and belittlement or cheerful conversation about the various haunted aspects of the case. In August 2014 in a conversation to a Haunted Places representative, a hotel employee debunked the claims about room 707. They said the rumors mostly started because the lights in that room have a tendency to flicker – and they do so because the room is in the top most part of the former train station aligned with the tracks and are subject to vibrations as the train passes. In addition, the narrow and claustrophobic atmosphere of the 7th floor, which is in the former attic, lends itself to an oppressive, looming feeling that makes one susceptible to tales of hauntings. However, this employee did say that the ghost that walks the balcony on the third floor (which is also actually the lobby floor) has been spotted several times, and it is this ghost that appears to leap to its death over the railing to the parking lot below. Although we did have a room on the 3rd floor with an unobstructed view of the balcony, we witnessed nothing of any interest either of the two nights we stayed there.